Launch Updates
Saturday Evening: Saturday's Delta 2 launch of a Russian TVsat was scrubbed due to a failure with one of the three fuel level sensors on the first stage, all three should read "dry" prior to fueling. The launch team did not have time to replace and revalidate before the second launch window and is aiming for Sunday pending weather forecasts.

Friday Evening: A comms glitch between ground stations and the Bonum-1 bird forced the second launch scrub in two days of Boeing's first Russian comsat launch - barely three minutes from liftoff at Cape Canaveral, Friday evening. Boeing says the satellite owner called a hold, and given the time available for scrub turnaround procedures a 24 hour delay was required.

Friday Morning: Boeing is set for a Delta-2 launch today following resolution of an engine nozzle steering problem caused by a safety rail inadvertently left in place. First window opens at 6:22pm to 7:04pm EST, with a second 9-minute window at 9:14pm. The payload is a Hughes HS 376 Russian TV sat for BONUM-1 Inc of Moscow.

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Delta's Russian TV Sat Launch Thursday
Cape Canaveral - November 16, 1998 - The Boeing Delta launch team and Hughes Space and Communications are preparing to launch the first western-built satellite purchased for use in Russia. BONUM-1, a Hughes HS 376 high power satellite, will be launched Nov. 19 for the BONUM-1 subsidiary of Media Most, a private Russian media group. A three-stage Delta II rocket will carry the satellite into orbit, where it will provide direct-to-home, digital television services to western Russia.

The first of two launch windows opens at 6:22 p.m. EST and closes at 7:03 p.m. EST. A second nine-minute window opens at 9:14 p.m. EST. The rocket will place the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit approximately 75 minutes after liftoff.

"This launch is reflective of the global nature of our industry," said Darryl Van Dorn, director of commercial and NASA Delta programs. "Nearly half of our launches next year are for international commercial communications companies. The vast majority of our business is providing launch services to satisfy the world's hunger for information services."

The satellite is a high-power version of the HS 376 spin-stabilized spacecraft. The delivery in-orbit contract includes the satellite, launch vehicle services, and ground satellite control equipment for use at the control center, and training for the satellite controllers. The satellite will be operated by the BONUM-1 control station, located in Moscow.

BONUM-1 is the 53rd HS 376 to be ordered from Hughes. It will contain eight active Ku-band transponders, which, as a result of digital compression technology, will be able to provide up to 50 channels using 80-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers. BONUM-1 will serve European or West-Siberian parts of Russia, selectable on-orbit by ground command.

The HS 376 spin-stabilized spacecraft consists of two main sections. One is the spinning section, which contains the apogee kick motor, power system, secondary propulsion, and most of the attitude control and the command and telemetry subsystem elements. The fully redundant subsystem controls and monitors the spacecraft through all mission phases. The secondary propulsion subsystem controls spacecraft orbital velocity, inclination, attitude, and spin speed. The other main section of the spacecraft is the despun portion, which houses the customized communications payload, including the transmitters and receivers.

All HS 376 models have two telescoping cylindrical solar panels. These panels and the deployable antennas are stowed for compactness during launch. The highly reliable design makes full use of a nickel-hydrogen battery to maintain uninterrupted broadcasting during eclipses. The solar panels use gallium arsenide solar cells similar to those proven on previous HS 376HP spacecraft.

Hughes Space and Communications Company is the world's leading manufacturer of geostationary commercial satellites, and is also a major supplier of spacecraft for communications and space exploration to the U.S. government and a builder of weather satellites for the United States and Japan.